Subscribe
Much like that gas station burrito you thought tasted great at the time — the news of Futurama returning in 2010 to please starving fans has turned horribly crappy.
20th Century Fox TV is producing 26 new episodes for a mid-year cable run on Comedy Central, but talks have broken down with voice stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, and Tress MacNeille over money. Fox is trying to cut costs for the move to cable and has offered the cast much less than they were asking (believed to be around $75,000 per episode).
As a result, 20th has put out a casting call to find replacement voice actors for the show. According to insiders, a deal could eventually be struck that brings the original voice actors back — but for now, the studio said it’s serious about finding replacements.
It’s not the first time 20th has gone that route during a tough negotiation on one of its toons. The studio previously threatened to replace the voice talent on “The Simpsons” when it couldn’t come to a deal with its stars. Casting feelers for replacements were even sent out, but a deal was eventually struck with the stars.
“We love the ‘Futurama’ voice performers and absolutely wanted to use them, but unfortunately, we could not meet their salary demands,” 20th Century Fox TV said in a statement. “While replacing these talented actors will be difficult, the show must go on. We are confident that we will find terrific new performers to give voice to Matt and David’s brilliantly subversive characters.”
Hopefully Fox wises up and gives Futurama a proper budget, gets the original actors, and puts Futurama on Fox. The original voice actors (and Billy West specifically) are irreplaceable.
